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Bloomberg spotlights CUs' 'big, big' tax win

WASHINGTON (3/4/14)--Credit unions and the preservation of their tax status were highlighted Monday within the first 23 words of a 1,000-word
Bloomberg
article on Rep. Dave Camp's (R-Mich.) unveiling of his draft tax code reforms last week. And Credit Union National Association executive John Magill was quoted underscoring the importance of the "big, big win" for CUNA, the state credit union associations, credit unions and credit union members.

"We're very, very pleased with this very big, big win," said Magill, CUNA executive vice president for government relations. "The tax exemption is our very heart and soul."

And on the other side of the equation, the article noted that, "Lobbyists and companies that lost breaks or face new taxes are trying furiously to build political opposition," citing, for instance, the banks.

Regarding the credit union win, CUNA left nothing to chance. The trade group took the lead in 2013 with an early strategy to educate and engage lawmakers and credit unions members.

The group's innovative and award-winning social media campaign, "DontTaxMyCreditUnion," generated 1.3 million contacts with lawmakers from credit union supporters since mid-May, when the campaign was launched. Through social media, the campaign helped to expose 5.3 million to the credit union message that a new tax on credit unions would be a tax on credit union members. Through lower fees on services, lower rates on loans and higher deposit rates, credit unions benefit their members to the tune of $6 billion each year. And, when there is a credit union in the market place, bank customers benefit too--by almost $2 billion a year.

During CUNA's "Don't Tax" advocacy, it was not just credit unions and their members that took to social media to back their credit union. Lawmakers also joined in with some tweeting their support for the credit union tax status.